I wanted to write a post here, but then I realized there is a plugin conflict going on between Gutenberg (just updated, roughly 3 hours ago from the time this post is written) and Yoast (last updated 7 days ago). While the conflict itself didn’t crash and burn the site (phew!), it’s quite intimidating to see that warning: The "yoast-seo" plugin has encountered an error and cannot be rendered. in red box on the top of the post editor. Anyway! I have submitted a report on the Gutenberg forum page, and hopefully the team could catch it in no time: https://wordpress.org/support/topic/gutenberg-ver-23-3-0-error-plugin-conflict-with-yoast-ver-27-7/

Now. What I wanted to write here.

Recently, I have been on K-drama watch. I am currently watching this series titled “The Art of Sarah“. I saw some short clips of their early episodes on social media, and I got curious. So far, I have been in the middle of episode 5, and this series reminds me of the whole story of Anna Delvey. A bit off topic: Julia Garner as Anna is MARVELOUS. Her voice as Anna is so annoying, it’s grating on my ears. That “I don’t have time for this, I don’t have time for you!”? Gah. So so so irritating. Love it to bits.

(Intermezzo: I HATE the fact that it’s on Netflix, which means I can’t grab some screenshots to share here. This series has some beautiful and stylish shots that I wish I could share here.)

There is one scene in the early episodes, though, that left an impression on me. On that episode, one of the characters is working as a staff member of a luxury brand store in a lavish mall. On her first day, her senior gave her a set of rules and limitations, including: Toilet. In it, her senior mentioned how her wealthy clientele could be so “delicate” that even the word “toilet” grossed them out, so the staff needs to say “I’m going for a tea time” whenever they need to take a toilet break. In that scene, it’s also shown how the staff and workers in the mall need to use a specific toilet, solely for the employees, away from and far from the visitors’ toilet.

This kind of practice — having separate toilets — is not new, and I personally know and see some malls in Jakarta using this approach. The hospital that I frequently visit has the same policy, too: Separate toilets for the patients/visitors and the medical staff.

That said, I understand where the drama “The Art of Sarah” came from. Korean entertainment, especially in movies and TV series, has been focusing a lot on class divisions, especially the social gap between the rich and the poor, as it’s evident in the movie “Parasite” (2019) by Bong Joon Ho. Hence, the casual mention of separate toilets/bathrooms for the ultra-wealthy clientele and regular middle-to-lower class employees, which, in actuality, is a really quiet (and sinister) way of saying, “you don’t belong here”. This is a direct jab at South Korea’s socio-economic gap issues and their chaebol culture.

This series intrigued me, mostly because most of the luxury brands we see around us are usually superficial. Yes, I’m being preachy here, but at the same time, how many of us are watching Tanner Leatherstein ripping open and destroying some of the most famous (and obviously most expensive) luxury bags, only for him and us to see the quality of the said bag and how the price point has always been the “brand name”?

Anyway. There is one thing that has been nagging me on the back of my head, especially on the separated toilets (hence why the scene left such an impression on me.)

I have been in situations where people, even families, had to queue for using toilet stalls in malls, only for us to see a store staff/employee step out from one of the stalls with the phone blasting out some short videos on Instagram/Tiktok, which indicated that they were taking their sweet time inside the toilet stall watching short videos and giggling during their break while the queue keeps growing and growing.

Nothing is wrong with employees taking their breaks. It’s mandated, even. But perhaps they can take it in some non-queueing places, perhaps? I’m a practicing muslim, and seeing mall employees taking their breaks inside the musholla/prayer room with both employees and visitors praying is really common. They usually watch short videos or browse social media, and it’s okay as long as the volume is not too loud. Some even took a quick shut-eye/nap. Again, it’s considered as okay.

Honestly, I feel bad for thinking about this, as I feel like I’m being unfair by accusing people and their profession, and I’ve lumped those two into one, which… bad, but I really can’t find a way to express my frustrations 🫤 I feel that this is not an issue of “separated toilets”, but more about common sense when using public facilities. It just happened that it was a mall employee who got caught spending their time inside a toilet stall, and there is always a high chance that a mall visitor might do the same, too. Should we have a separate toilet for mall visitors and mall employees? Perhaps, or perhaps not. Depending on how we, as a community, use it.

(Also, on the series, the staff lashed out by saying, “THE EMPLOYEES TOILETS ARE REALLY FAR! HOW DO YOU EXPECT US TO MAN THE STORE, GO TO THE TOILET, AND COME BACK IN SECONDS ALL THE TIME?!” Sooooo… (I’m trying to justify myself here) the issue is the access, I guess?)